Marble Hornets/YMMV

Everything About Fiction You Never Wanted to Know.


  • And the Fandom Rejoiced: They're releasing a DVD! With special features!
    • The DVD is doing so well there is a serious chance there will be another! There will be a season three so that they can give the ending the proper space it deserves!
    • There was a surprising amount of excitement from the fanbase when Brian returned in Entry #51. Probably because it showed that the seemingly unimportant side cast hadn't been forgotten, thus opening the door for numerous ideas to speculate on.
    • While the commentary on the first DVD was hilarious, it didn't tell fans anything. The Season 2 commentary promises to make up for that.
  • Non Sequitur Scene: Near the end of entry #22, after Seth's apparent demise, there is a brief, silent 2-3 second shot of a Nightmare Face, before cutting to Alex talking. It hasn't been brought up since, and it is unknown where the face came from or who it belonged to, but there is a possibility that it could be Foreshadowing the eventual dual masky attack in entry #45, as the details of the second mask are distorted and never quite shown clearly. Could also just be a result of Rule of Scary.
  • Complete Monster: We still don't know enough about the Operator's goals to accuse him, but definitely Alex.
  • Early Installment Weirdness: A lot of it. The distortion in the first few entries is much lighter than the ear-rapes and laser shows we would generally see from about Entry #12 onwards; Slender Man used to move a little and can even be walking in one case, as opposed to just appearing in the frame for a second and standing there, motionless; Alex sure was weird back in the days of filming the actual Marble Hornets movie, but there was absolutely no indication that he'd already gone full batshit, and the latest tapes show that he obviously had; Masky once teleported into Jay's room in Entry #19 and just sat there, like Slender Man would, but that was literally the only time he's ever done that: usually Maskies are much more feral, attacking the protagonists on sight, and when they aren't they just follow them on foot and film them, not teleport right to them; also, there used to be distortion whenever Maskies appeared, most noticeably in Entry #19, but there isn't anymore. Alien Geometries havent really copped up either, since Entry #24.
  • Ensemble Darkhorse: The Masked Man or Masky is the person who gets the most fanart, despite only being in a few entries. Also Tim has gained a good following due to his striking good looks and massive sideburns. Might also be because they're the same person.
    • The cast of the student film has a sizable following as well, and many fans want to see them return. They got their wish in Entry #51 when Brian returned.
    • The man in the white shirt who Alex murders in Entry #49 has garnered some interest too, out of a combination of his unknown back story and the fact his small role did more in establishing a crucial plot element (i.e. that Alex is a murderer) than the rest of the side cast ever did.
  • Epileptic Trees: Almost literally. At the bottom of the frame in Entry #49, from 3:30 to 3:38, there is a strange moving shape in the background that could be a tree branch or not. Fan speculation is, as is only to be expected, rife.
  • Fan Dumb: Apparently, the fact that the creators are releasing the series on DVD doesn't sit too well to certain parts of the fan base. "They sold out" has already been tossed around. Apparently, the fanbase is only happy when this is a project the creators have to pay for out of their pockets and they should never expect a single bit of profit from it.
    • Vocal Minority: For all the whining, the reaction was mostly positive, and they sold out of the initial run of a thousand DVDs within three days.
  • First Installment Wins/Seasonal Rot/Sophomore Slump: Not a very severe example, but there is a decent amount of fans who prefer the bleak atmosphere and minimalist plot of the first season over the character driven detective story of the second season. Fridge Logic might have something to do with that. It should be noted that Your Mileage May Vary wildly, as there are many who find the second season just as terrifying as the first. As you can see by this page.
  • Fridge Horror / Epileptic Trees: #22 spawned a lot of this for Seth.
  • Hell Is That Noise: The audio distortions are one of the creepiest things in the series.
    • Entry #22: Seth's distorted screaming as he gets taken down
    • Entry #23: Besides the multiple distortions of Jay´s voice and several strange noises, some GODDAMN LAUGHTER is heard at one point.
    • Entry #26: That buzzing drone at the beginning of the footage is freakin' horrifying, especially when coupled with the distorted visuals.
    • Entry #35: The distorted scream Masky/Tim lets out as Alex brings the rock down on his leg.
    • There's a soft, hollow tapping sound that appears in certain situations. It also shows up in meditation videos, which can scare the living daylights out of Marble Hornets fans trying to relax.
    • enttry #37: While most of the audio is normal, the voice of Alex's father, who's holding the camera and therefore the most audible, sounds slowed down and just a bit too deep. It's very creepy.
    • Entry #45: Alex's voice distorts at the end when he says 'I'll kill you!'
    • Entry #46: The ultra-loud, ultra-sudden distortion which occurs during the Jump Scare.
  • Hilarious in Hindsight: This fan-made poster from summer 2010. It's getting more and more fitting with each new entry.
    • The ending of Joseph Writes a Paper manages to foreshadow what Alex tries to do to Jay in Entry #52 and the kind of actions he pulls in Entry #49. Note that Joseph Writes a Paper was uploaded in December 2010 and #49 and #52 were uploaded a year later in 2011.
    • In the Season 2 premier, after waking up with no memory from the past seven months, Jay tries "1234" first when trying open the safe. Chronologically earlier during the seven months, in the Season 2 finale, Jessica suggests Jay uses "1234" for his safe, but Jay says that's what he would try first. On the Season 2 DVD commentary, Troy said he hoped TV Tropes would talk about this, listing it under "Hilarious in Hindsight," but they hadn't.
    • Invoked, since the trailer for Alex's movie was shown on the Season 2 dvd, but one of the lines in the narration has Tim's character saying that he sometimes feels like he's "Wearing a mask" when he's around other people.
  • Ho Yay: Ass-shots seem to be very common, especially in the newer videos.
  • Hype Backlash: Some people who hear about the series then check it out get really disappointed in the slow pace of the First Season and the large amount of Filler, as well as the rare appearance of the Operator in general.
  • I Am Not Shazam: The Slender Man is known as the Operator here.
  • I Knew It!: The mysterious masked man really was Tim.
    • Jay tweeted on the 9th of July: '(Totheark's) videos are so inconsistent. It's like they're being made by different people. No way I can prove that, though.' Despite explicitly stating he can't prove it, some fans are preemptively fist-pumping.
    • Entry #45 confirms the existence of at least two maskies.
  • Memetic Mutation: The endless 'Gimme 20 dollars' videos. According to the interview below, the creators themselves are sick of it.
  • Moral Event Horizon: Alex was always kind of a dick, but he crosses the line in Entry 49 when he straight up murders a dude.
    • Just to make sure he has officially crossed the line and lost all sympathy #51 reveals he lured his friends to be "taken" by the Operator. Following this in #52 he attempts to murder Jay (who seems to have pretty much left his entire life behind to help Alex) and also Jessica who was completely innocent (and knew nothing about what had been happening) simply because he wanted to tie up lose ends. Even for a guy who had been running from the Operator for 5 years this was just plain evil.
      • Coldcocking a guy while he's taking a piss is also a really low blow.
  • Narm: Entry #28 mentions that the camera picked up noises from the room next door. Right after that, we hear some sort of thumping. Wonder what Jessica was doing...
    • Alex's dad's happy birthday song in enttry 37, otherwise a HONF Wham! Episode.
    • There's a reason why the deleted scenes on the DVD were removed from the series itself...
    • Entry #47 shows that both lead actors are actually pretty wooden.
    • In Entry #56, a few have noted that the rebar Alex used to beat Tim looked like a stick. Making the scene less dramatic and just strange. The sound effect made as Alex hits Tim even sounds like it's a stick beating wood. This, folks, is why Kung Foley can actually be a good thing.
  • Nightmare Fuel: Stylistically speaking, it's The Blair Witch Project meets The Ring and Cloverfield, with a little dash of the Chzo Mythos on top, and with everything non-essential stripped away. A scene involving something as simple as a man walking into a dimly lit room has kept people awake for days. In a nutshell, a whole fucking lot.
    • The simple sound of a person coughing is even enough to scare the living daylights out of any Marble Hornets fan.
  • Nightmare Retardant:
  • Paranoia Fuel:
    • How about The Operator nonchalantly walking into your bedroom as you sleep and disappearing for no reason?
    • Or you know, totheark appearing in your room to stare at you and take you somewhere for three hours....without you even realizing it.
    • The Operator silently standing in the darkness, in front of you... INSIDE YOUR OWN BLOODY HOUSE. For even more creep-factor, Alex walks straight past him without noticing.
    • Or perhaps the thought of missing seven whole months of your memory, waking up suddenly in an unfamiliar place, and then have to figure out just what the hell happened that you can't remember.
    • Aside from the totheark-esque Entry #####, the recent entries have been going this way, what with the oddness in the circumstances of each new post and his Twitter feed.
    • Walking through a forest, thinking you hear footsteps behind you. You go on, are unable to find anyone, and then turn around to see Masky look at you from the trees.
    • The DVD has some paranoia fuel, too. Anyone else notice the video tear during the credits?
  • Ruined FOREVER: Some fans are already reacting this way in light of the DVD release. Selling out and other such terms have already been used to describe a legitimate attempt to procure funds for the project.
  • Seinfeld Is Unfunny: The series is very quickly heading here, thanks to the massive amounts of Follow the Leader within The Slender Man Mythos.
    • Sturgeon's Law: Despite the large quantity of copycats, only a few receive the attention and praise that Marble Hornets gets.
  • So Bad It's Good: The DVD Commentary. It mostly consists of funny stories about being fired, bad jokes, Nightmare Retardant, the creators being kind-of drunk, and boatloads of Self-Deprecation. There is some cool information about the making of the series, but discussion of Marble Hornets itself only crops up in a few videos, and when it does, it comes with a Crowning Moment of Funny and Nightmare Retardant. They only acknowledge The Operator himself about twice. As well as the totheark videos, where they outright state that they are only going to be cracking bad jokes instead of discussing the videos or their meanings. And it's all awesome.
    • It's really more of an MST than anything.
  • Special Effects Failure: The "blood" on Alex's face in Entry #14. This contrasting with the genuinely frightening event that just took place makes that entry a major Base Breaker.
    • The Operator's arm from the same entry is also quite obviously fake. Although, that actually makes it creepier in a way.
    • Return is unadulterated Nightmare Fuel in first viewing. Repeated viewings, however, make the Operator look less and less realistic, especially up close.
      • Fortunately, they seemed to have improved on it by Entry #40, the only other time the Operator is seen in light and up close.
      • That the "Gimme $20" video uses footage from Return doesn't help.
  • Squick: In Entry #51, after Brian is dragged out of the room, what sounds like meat being cut can be heard. The Operator claiming another victim.
  • The Chris Carter Effect: Though it may ultimately tie everything up, the story does continue to accumulate questions at a much higher rate than answers - and significant labor is demanded in accessing the latter.
  • Uncanny Valley: Much of the "attraction" for The Operator.
    • Another example crops up in totheark's "Decay".
  • Villain Decay: The Masked Man shows up out of nowhere to attack Jay, then goes on to provide one of the scariest jumpcuts in history. As the series goes on, however, it becomes clear that he despite his apparent fetish for jumping people, he is not that great in a fight, and somehow fails to ever cause Jay any real harm no matter how many times they scrap. It's worth noting that it's still not certain whether Masky and totheark are the same person, and without the association with the ark channel Masky is a far less frightening figure.
  • The Woobie: Jay, and to an even further extent, Jessica.
    • Not to mention Tim. He's just so badly damaged by everything that's happened to him. His wrenching, painful-sounding cough is itself enough to rouse pity from anyone who's ever had a similar ailment.
    • It's hard not to feel sorry for Brian when His supposed "Friend" Alex lures him into being taken by The Operator
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